


take my hand (take my whole life too)

by reject_mikeyy



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Adventure Time-Style Vampires, Barry Doesn't Drink Blood He Drinks Color, Breakfast, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M, Valentine's Day, Vampire AU, it's just really cute ok, vampire Barry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9647924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reject_mikeyy/pseuds/reject_mikeyy
Summary: Sure, Barry was a vampire, but it wasn’t what it looked like. He didn’t partake in the consumption of human blood, animal blood, or anything like that. In addition to the gross texture and taste, he didn’t think he could ever look in the eyes of a living creature and then drain it like a hospital IV fluid bag. He got his sustenance from the red coloring in fruits and vegetables, like Marceline from Adventure Time.--written as part of a valentine's fic exchange hosted by @yaoimachine on tumblr. hope the recipient enjoys it!title from Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley.





	

“Hey, Vlad, up and at ‘em. We’ve gotta go to Walgreens.” 

Barry rolled over, blinking his eyes open to see Dan standing above him. Upon registering his roommate’s presence, he quickly made an attempt to look around Dan, hoping to catch a glimpse of his alarm clock to argue that it was only...actually, it was a reasonable hour. Having lost his argument, Barry moved onto Plan B. He closed his eyes again, groaning dramatically. Dan rolled his eyes and put his hands on Barry’s shoulders, shaking in an effort to rouse him. Barry lifted his hands up to cover Dan’s and pulled Dan down onto the bed with him, karate style, throwing a leg over the taller man and attempting to go back to sleep. 

 

“B, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and we haven’t gotten anything for the rest of the Grumps. We’re the worst coworkers in the history of coworking.” He rolled over in Barry’s arms and poked him in the nose, to which the shorter man opened his eyes. Being practically nose-to-nose with Dan, Barry could see the small intricacies of his face, the miniscule freckles dappling his nose and the creases in his eyelids. He exhaled a heavy breath, and as a result of their proximity, Dan felt it on his lips. He wriggled around a little, eyes darting between Barry’s features, and Barry could hear his heart rate increase, but said nothing. He all-but watched Dan’s cheeks flood with color vein by vein.

The flush in Dan’s cheeks did less for his appetite than it did for his own heartbeat. Sure, he was a vampire, but it wasn’t what it looked like. He didn’t partake in the consumption of human blood, animal blood, or anything like that. In addition to the gross texture and taste, he didn’t think he could ever look in the eyes of a living creature and then drain it like a hospital IV fluid bag. He got his sustenance from the red coloring in fruits and vegetables, like Marceline from Adventure Time. Arin was always trying to get him to cosplay Marshall Lee, saying that he had the flannel part down already. 

“What are we gonna get them?” He asked, defeated in his quest to go back to sleep. Dan wrestled out of his grip and pulled Barry’s arms to get him to a seated position. 

“I’m glad you asked, dear Barold. We have a list.” He tossed a decent-smelling shirt at Barry and practically skipped from the room, headed to their small kitchen. Of course, Barry had already gotten Dan a Valentine’s Day gift. Hanukkah was always cause for a big blowout at their house, but they did all non-major holidays as follows: Barry would put a little something for Dan in the kitchen the night before, for when he inevitably woke up first. Dan would put a little something for Barry on the coffee table in the living room, where Barry went to collect his mind in the mornings. If Dan was in a particularly good mood, Barry would find a mug of coffee with his Cadbury Eggs or his conversation hearts or his caramel-covered apple. Living with Dan was one of the best things that had ever happened to Barry, and he wanted to make sure Dan knew how much he was appreciated. This year Barry got him an oversized bag of Skittles and a Giants t-shirt, and they were wrapped in 3 layers of plastic bag and hidden in his closet. The bag was actually big enough that it was wearing the shirt, which Barry thought was just genius, if he did say so himself.

He shuffled around his room, slid on a pair of shoes and walked out to meet Dan in the kitchen. Their house was small but it fit the two of them and they didn’t really need very much else. Dan stood expectantly by the toaster with the decimated remains of a Pop-Tart wrapper on the counter in front of him. He heard Barry come in and turned to face his roommate. 

“You hungry?” Dan asked, and Barry nodded, running a hand over his grumbling tummy to hopefully console it. He took out another foil packet of toaster pastries, and set them down, waiting for Dan’s to be done. “Thirsty?” Dan added, his voice aloof and non-confrontational like a ‘cool’ parent asking their kid about weed and trying to be relatable. Which wasn’t unlike their current situation. Dan was a mortal, just a regular old, Grade A (well, maybe Grade B due to his skinny form) slab of human meat. He didn’t really know what Barry was going through with the whole vampire thing, just that sometimes he needed something special to quench his thirst, and that he was willing to help Barry get what he needed. They used ‘hungry’ and ‘thirsty’ to talk about human food and vamp needs, respectively. 

Anyway, Barry shrugged. He wasn’t thirsty enough to need to have something right now, he could wait. Dan nodded back at him, plucking his breakfast from the toaster and putting Barry’s Pop-Tarts in the slots where his once were. The two fixed breakfast around each other relatively quietly, and then they sat down to eat. It wasn’t much of a feast, on account of tomorrow being the normal grocery day, but Pop-Tarts and OJ were enough for them. They ate calmly, and all went well except for the one time they both reached for the milk at the same time, causing their hands to collide. Dan pulled his hand back and immediately used it to scratch at the back of his neck, laughing nervously. Once that hideous mishap was over, the two headed to the car. Dan eased himself into the driver’s seat so as not to hit his head on the doorframe, and buckled his seatbelt. Once they got driving, Barry turned his head to Dan.

“So what are we getting again? Specifically, I mean.” He asked, and Dan snuck a glance away from the road at him.

“I haven’t totally figured that out yet. I know I want to get Arin those fancy chocolates I can’t pronounce, something foreign.” He said, and Barry felt his heart dip for a reason he had a hard time admitting. But since narrating this story doesn’t require Barry to admit it for us to know, we’ll reveal it anyway. He was jealous. He wanted the fancy foreign chocolates that Dan seemed to have oh-so-thoughtfully picked out in advance for the head honcho Grump. None of that registered on the outside, however, and Barry nodded at Dan’s statement.

“Sounds good.” He said, and remained quiet for the rest of the ride.

They pulled into the parking lot and both got out of the car. The automatic doors opened, sending out a rush of conditioned air towards the two men, and they meandered inside the store. Happy, bouncy pop music echoed through the aisles. Dan smiled knowingly as Barry glanced around, his eyes catching on the sliver of the Valentine’s aisle that was visible to him. Barry hadn’t even thought about it; red was the color of Valentine’s Day. If there was one thing to describe the holiday, it would literally be the word ‘red.’ He had told Dan he wasn’t thirsty, but all of a sudden he felt like he was trekking through the desert with an empty canteen and his throat was closing up. He looked at Dan, slightly worriedly, afraid he might go completely primal at any second and leave the Glendale Walgreens with nothing but lifeless gray cards. Dan just giggled at him, like he had known this would happen the whole time, and gestured for Barry to go ahead of him. Barry took cautious steps towards the chocolates and cards while Dan grabbed a basket. They moved to stand in the ‘centerfold,’ so-to-speak, of the store, where the holiday candy was displayed from wall to wall. Barry was beginning to sweat. Spinning in slow circles, he took in his surroundings, willing his heartbeat to ease up. Dan caught him by the arm mid-turn.

“Dude, you’re gonna get dizzy and throw up.” He said, amusement coloring his voice. He led Barry around the aisle as he stuffed their basket with malted milk balls for Ross, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds for Holly, Ferrero Rochers for Arin and Suzy, a chocolate bar ‘shaped like a boyfriend’ for Vernon and blood orange-filled chocolates for Brian. Danny finally nudged Barry out of his trance-like state, and offered to let him pick something out. Barry hesitantly stepped forward and perused the aisle for a second before he plucked a red chocolate heart off the shelf, handing it to Dan. They checked out, and started back towards the car. 

On the walk through the parking lot, the two men’s hands brushed, and Barry froze for a moment, not sure what to do. Dan thankfully seemed more confident than he, and the next time their hands swung towards each other, he reached out and held Barry’s in his. Internally, both men were losing their minds. Externally, they were just two souls, holding hands in a Walgreens parking lot. Simple as that. The drive home was quiet, Barry suffering from sensory overload and Dan worrying about his stunt with the hands back there. They grabbed the bags from the car in a comfortable silence and headed towards their house, Dan hanging back while Barry unlocked the door. 

The gifts were wrapped and stored in a paper bag for tomorrow’s work day, and Dan sat down on the couch to watch a movie. He heard Barry rustling in the kitchen but expected him to go to his room. Why would he hang out with someone who just tried to make a move on him in a convenience store parking lot? Doubt bubbled in his stomach, and it didn’t feel good. Now was like the point in the rollercoaster when you see the top of the hill, realize there’s no way to get off now, and start to regret the choice of getting on. Distracted by his pity-party, he almost missed Barry shuffling into the living room with a bowl of popcorn. Dan blinked him into focus, and Barry put the popcorn on the coffee table. He stood by Dan expectantly, and Dan sheepishly held his blanket open for Barry. The smaller, younger man climbed in next to him and rested his head on Dan’s pectoral muscle. 

“Thank you for my chocolate.” He said mousily, and turned his head to press a small, chaste kiss to Danny’s chest. Heat bloomed from the spot and Dan blushed, tightening the arm around Barry. 

“You’re welcome, Lil’ Dracula.” He said, smiling into Barry’s hair. They watched the rest of the movie in silence, but they stayed put in their little cuddle puddle, warming each other’s bodies and hearts. They felt like two teenagers on a first date, which I guess was partially true. Did this count as a first date? It sure felt like it to both men, but they didn’t need to talk about it right now. They could worry about that later.

\---

In case you were wondering, Dan got Barry two dozen chocolate-covered strawberries, which the two ate for breakfast the next morning. Barry found a note on the coffee table instead of his usual package, and followed the instructions on the paper leading him to the fridge. He found a box from Edible Arrangements addressed to him, and a delicious-looking raspberry pastry in a separate paper box on top of that. He picked up the top box and read the Sharpie on the top. “To B, from D. <3” His heart fluttered a little as he pulled it from the fridge along with the strawberries and got some plates from the cabinet. When Dan came out to join him after his shower, he already had coffee going. They had another relaxed breakfast and as Dan watched Barry lick the chocolate off and then suck the red from the strawberries, he noted in his head that he would have to thank this Saint Valentine guy if he ever saw him.

**Author's Note:**

> if you wanna find me on tumblr im @reject-mikeyy
> 
> :) happy valentines day


End file.
